Poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB) and copolymers thereof can be produced using transgenic fermentation methods, see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,569 to Williams et al., and are produced commercially, for example, by Tepha, Inc. (Lexington, Mass.). Poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB, TephaFLEX® biomaterial) is a strong, pliable thermoplastic polyester that, despite its biosynthetic route, has a relatively simple structure as shown below.

The polymer belongs to a larger class of materials called polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) that are produced by numerous microorganisms (see, for example, Steinbüchel A., et al. Diversity of Bacterial Polyhydroxyalkanoic Acids, FEMS Microbial. Lett. 128:219-228 (1995)). In nature these polyesters are produced as storage granules inside cells, and serve to regulate energy metabolism. They are also of commercial interest because of their thermoplastic properties, biodegradability and relative ease of production.
The PHA polymers have been divided into three classes based on the number of carbon atoms in their subunits. Short-chain-length PHA polymers (or scl-PHAs) are made from monomers of 3 to 5 carbon atoms. Medium-chain-length PHA polymers (mcl-PHAs) contain 6 to 14 carbons in their monomeric units, and long-chain-length PHAs (lcl-PHAs) have monomers with more than 14 carbons. The properties of these polymers vary dramatically depending upon their chain length, including their solubilities, thermal, and mechanical properties. P4HB has four carbon atoms in its monomeric unit, and is therefore classified as a scl-PHA.
Chemical synthesis of P4HB has been attempted, but it has been impossible to produce the polymer with a sufficiently high molecular weight that is necessary for most applications (see Hori, Y., et al., Polymer 36:4703-4705 (1995); Houk, K. N., et al., J. Org. Chem., 2008, 73 (7), 2674-2678; and Moore, T., et al., Biomaterials 26:3771-3782 (2005)). In fact, it has been calculated to be thermodynamically impossible to chemically synthesize a high molecular weight homopolymer under normal conditions (Moore, T., et al., Biomaterials 26:3771-3782 (2005)).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,245,537, 6,623,748, 7,244,442, and 8,231,889 describe methods of making PHAs with low levels of endotoxin. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,548,569, 6,838,493, 6,867,247, 7,268,205, 7,179,883, 7,268,205, 7,553,923, 7,618,448 and 7,641,825 and WO 2012/064526 describe use of PHAs to make medical devices. Methods to control molecular weight of PHA polymers have been disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,811,272 to Snell et al.
PHAs with controlled degradation and degradation in vivo of less than one year are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,548,569, 6,610,764, 6,828,357, 6,867,248, and 6,878,758 to Williams et al. and WO 99/32536 to Martin et al. Applications of P4HB have been reviewed in Williams, S. F., et al., Polyesters, III, 4:91-127 (2002), and by Martin, D. et al. Medical Applications of Poly-4-hydroxybutyrate: A Strong Flexible Absorbable Biomaterial, Biochem. Eng. J. 16:97-105 (2003). Medical devices and applications of P4HB have also been disclosed by WO 00/56376 to Williams et al. Several patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,555,123, 6,585,994, and 7,025,980 describe the use of PHAs in tissue repair and engineering. U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,034,270, 8,016,883, 8,287,909, WO 2011/119742 and WO 2011/159784 disclose fibers, non-wovens, and textiles made by melt extrusion or dry spinning of P4HB.
German Patent No. DE 3937649A1 to Steinbüchel et al. discloses production of P4HB by fermentation. The P4HB polymer was identified by methanolysis of the biomass using gas chromatograpy. The P4HB polymer was not however purified from the biomass.
Two patent applications, WO 99/32536 to Martin and WO 00/56376 to Williams disclose a method to produce P4HB in recombinant Escherichia coli K12. The resulting biomass containing the P4HB polymer was fluidized and lyophilized, and the P4HB polymer extracted with tetrahydrofuran, filtered, precipitated, redissolved in solvent, filtered again, precipitated, washed, and lyophilized. After this purification process, the P4HB polymer was reported to have the following composition by elemental analysis: carbon 55.63%, hydrogen 7.41%, oxygen 37.28%, and nitrogen 41 ppm.
P4HB polymer has also been produced by the methods disclosed by EP 2534141 A1 to Van Walsem, and by WO 2013/023140 to Van Walsem.
Production of P4HB homopolymer from glucose has been reported by Zhou et al. Hyperproduction of poly(4-hydroxybutyrate) from glucose by recombinant Escherichia coli, Microb. Cell Fact. 11:54 (2012). The P4HB polymer was purified from the biomass.
Several other patents have disclosed methods to purify other PHA polymers from biomass, but none of these other PHA compositions or methods of purification are currently used to produce medical implants cleared or approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,980 to Ramsay et al. discloses using hypochlorite solution to digest biomass in order to extract poly-3-hydroxyalkanoates. U.S. Pat. No. 5,942,597 to Noda et al. discloses solvent extraction of PHA polymers with melt temperatures of about 80° C. or higher from biomass. U.S. Pat. No. 6,043,063 to Kurdikar et al. discloses direct solvent extraction of certain PHA polymers from biomass with non-halogenated solvents. U.S. Pat. No. 6,087,471 to Kurdikar et al. discloses the use of pressure and high temperatures to solvent extract PHA polymers. U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,966 to Schumann et al. discloses methods to reduce the biomass and enzymatically decompose it. U.S. Pat. No. 7,098,298 to Kinoshita et al. discloses extracting PHA polymers with a monohydric alcohol having 4 to 10 carbon atoms. U.S. Pat. No. 7,118,897 to Narasimha et al. discloses the extraction of PHA polymers with solvents at high temperatures and under pressure, including the use of ethanol to extract PHA polymers. U.S. Pat. No. 7,226,765 to Narasimha et al. discloses the solvent extraction of PHA polymers at high temperatures. U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,980 to Walsem et al. discloses solvent extraction of PHA polymers, and recovery using centrifugation. U.S. Pat. No. 7,393,668 to Yanagita et al. discloses a method to extract PHA polymers from biomass by physical disruption in the presence of alkali followed by treatment of the separated PHA polymer with an enzyme and/or a surfactant to remove impurities adhering to the PHA polymer. U.S. Pat. No. 7,435,567 to Osakada et al. discloses methods to purify PHA polymers by digesting nucleic acids with hypochlorous acid. U.S. Pat. No. 7,576,173 to Walsem et al. discloses the extraction of PHA polymers with combinations of solvents. U.S. Pat. No. 8,357,508 to Mantelatto discloses a method to extract PHA polymers from biomass by injecting PHA solvents in liquid and vapor form into the biomass and heating.
The use of methanol to prewash Pseudomonas putida and Ralstonia eutropha 4-hydroxyvalerate-containing PHA polymer biomass prior to solvent extraction has been disclosed by Gorenflo et al. “Development of a process for the biotechnological production of 4-hydroxyvalerate-containing polyesters and characterization of their physical and mechanical properties”, Biomacromolecules 2:45-57 (2001). The use of methanol to prewash Pseudomonas putida KT2440 biomass containing medium chain length PHA polymers has also been disclosed by Jiang et al. “Acetone extraction of mcl-PHA from Pseudomonas putida KT2440”, J. Microbiol. Meth. 67:212-219 (2006). However, impurities with UV absorbances at 241 and 275 nm from the mcl-PHA polymer were still present following the use of methanol as a prewash step, and multiple additional steps were required to reduce their presence. The authors did not further identify these contaminants, but commented that nucleic acids and aromatic acids are known to absorb at these wavelengths. Moreover, methanol is highly toxic to humans in small quantities. In vivo, methanol is metabolized via formaldehyde to formic acid, which can cause permanent blindness by the destruction of the optic nerve. Ingestion, inhalation, or absorption of methanol can be fatal. For these reasons, the use of methanol in the preparation of implantable products should be avoided, and its use in pharmaceuticals is restricted and regulated by the FDA as a Class 2 solvent (International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) guidance for industry Q3C Impurities: Residual Solvents, 1997).
In the manufacture of implants using polymers, it is desirable that the polymeric materials have the lowest levels of impurities possible in order to prevent or minimize the reaction of the body to the impurities. Such undesirable reactions can include inflammation, cytotoxicity, irritation, pyrogenicity, genotoxicity, carcinogenicity, and acute, subchronic and chronic toxicity. Impurities may be placed in three broad categories, namely, organic impurities, inorganic impurities, and residual solvents. The purification of PHA polymers to a level where they are suitable for use in implants is particularly difficult due to their production in biological systems. Such production requires that the purification process remove a wide range of impurities, including, for example, lipids, proteins, peptides, heavy metals, endotoxin, polysaccharides, nucleic acids, amino acids, cell wall components, residual feed stocks, and residual media components if the PHA polymers are derived by fermentation. The latter can include yeast extract, soy peptone, antifoam agents, antibiotics, salts, amino acids, trace metals, sugars, and buffers. The purification is further complicated by the known affinity of PHA polymers for proteins, their relatively low solubility or lack of solubility in most solvents, and the difficulties of removing solvents from polymers to acceptable levels. And these difficulties must all be overcome while still yielding PHA polymers with good yields.
In order to improve the purity and biocompatibility of P4HB, it is desirable to identify new methods of purification that yield P4HB with reduced levels of: lipid, residues on ignition, nitrogen content, heavy metals, and residual solvent.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide compositions of P4HB with improved purity.
It is another object of the present invention to provide methods to produce P4HB with improved purity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide implants made from P4HB compositions with improved purity.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide methods for human or animal use of P4HB implants with improved purity.